Playing with numbers

In 1960, 40 million Americans lived under the poverty line.

In 1999, 21 million lived in poverty.

In 2007, 37 million were living in poverty.

In August 2008, 37.3 million lived below the poverty line (12.5%)

First, look at the 1999 to 2007 numbers.

In 1999, 272 million people were living in the US. In 2007, 301 million.

In 1960, the illegal population in the US was negligible. Today, over 12 million are in the US illegally and many of them are among those living in poverty.


In 1960, the population of the US was about 178 million.



Numbers are important, but understanding context and perspective, is even more useful.






Numbers